Steel manufacture.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

EDWARD F. KENNEY, OF WESTMONT BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

s'rnar. nrmurncruan.

Specification 01 Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2'7, 1915.

Application filed January 16, 1915. Serial No. 2,512.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD F. KENNEY,

a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of VVestmont, in the count of j,

clear, and exact description of the inven:

tion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to making steel ingots with the use of non-conducting ingot mold tops, and then usin said ingots in certain Ways, and the nove features of my invention will be obvious from the description hereinafter given.

The purpose of non-conducting tops on metal ingots for the purpose of providing a reservoir of metal kept molten by reason of the conservation of the heat, has been r estricted because of the excessive cost of the tops which are ordinarily made entirely of non-conducting material, such as burned fire brick which is expensive. To provide the necessary strength to enable these non-conducting refractor tops to be handled they have necessarily een made bulky; and to obviate this necessity metal casings inclosing and supporting a cheaper kind of nonconducting material, such as loam or dry sand have sometimes been used. As it would be improper to charge a top with metal casing, into a heating furnace; it has been the usual custom to allow all ingots cast with a non-conducting top to become cold, and to remove the to before the ingot is charged into the heating furnace. o avoid charging large quantities of non-conducting material or metal casings into the heating furnaces, and to also avoid the necessity of allowing the ingot to become cold, such metal casing must be removed, preferably in the steel lant Where the ingots are cast. This avoi s the necessity of having on hand an excessive number of metal casings and also avoids the transportation of the same to and from the heating furnaces, which generally are located at some distance from the pouring stands where the ingots are cast; but when the metal casing is removed some non-conducting material, should, according to my invention, be left on the top of the ingot to conserve the heat in the sink-head, and cause the body of the ingot to be solid which is the ultimate purpose of sink-head tops. This is particularly necessary because unforeseen contingencies frequently prevent the prompt charging of the ingots, sometimes to the extent of allowing them to get cold before they are charged.

My process is particularly suited to meet these conditions, as I use a metallic casing which serves as a mold for preparing the jacket of loam or other non-conducting material, and also as a reinforcing shell to rotect the non-conducting loam jacket. This protection enables it to be handled safelyin the operation of drying the loam and setting the top on the ingot mold. After the steel is oured into the ingot mold and sink head, t e loam lining being held to the casing by such means as are easily destroyed by heat or by a moderate vertical pull on the casin the non-conducting lining being now held y the steel, the metal casing is easil removed and is used over again as describe The process substantially as described, involving the casting of metal into an ingot mold equipped with a non-conducting jacket temporari y held in a metallic casing, and the removal. of the metallic'casing from the jacket after the ingot mold and jacket are filled with steel, is novel and useful, in that it permits the use of a sink head in the ordinary commercial practice of steel making.

Most sink heads as heretofore used on ingot molds are set on top of the mold, which necessitates that the ingot mold and sink head be poured full, which makes all the ingots of thesame size and weight. On the other hand, different lengths and weights of ingots are necessary in the making of steel rails, forging blooms and similar products in order to avoid the excessive loss of material asiscrap or Waste. 7

My process obviates this difliculty and provides ingots of various weights by setting my non-conducting sink head top at various predetermined heights in the ingot mold before the steel is poured which thus permits of the casting of in ots of any desirable length or weight. his results in considerable convenience and economies in the making of ingots for various purposes.

Another value of holding the non-conducting jacket on the sink head lies in the fact that it quite frequently happens that ingots are delayed in charging into the soaking pitheating furnaces. This delay would be fatal to and spoil the in ots from which the non-conducting jacket ad been removed. By my method remove the metal casing and leave the non-conducting jacket on the sink head.

Having thus given a general description of my invention I will now refer to the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference refer to like parts Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation through the top of an ingot mold and an ingot mold top used in my process of steel manufacture. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through an ingot and a temporary ingot mold top lining, from which the in 01; mold and the metal lngot mold top casing have been removed, these being the parts which are charged into the heating furnace. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the non-conducting in ot mold top used in my process.

ferring now to the characters of reference on the drawings :The metal mold l for the steel is preferably of large top type, that is it has the greatest section at the top. This mold is provided. with lifting in s 2 and a sink head top which is composed of an outside casing of metal 4 and an inside non-conductin lining of dried loam or similar material. 11 my process the sink head is supported on the mold at an predetermined height by means of meta pins 7 fitting into holes or sockets 6 of the metal casing which can be so regulated as to make an ingot 3 of any desired length and weight. This feature is of great value as the ordinary process of setting a sink head in an invariable position on the ingot mold results in producing all ingots of e ual size and weight. In makin ingots or steel rails and many other pro note this use of an invariable size and weight of the ingots results in very heavy loss. If, for example, the ingot is of the economical size for rails of 100 pounds per yard weight, there will be much less in cutting from this same sized ingot, blooms for rails which weigh only 85 pounds per yard.

In ordinary working it is not practicable to use ingot molds of different sizes for these different weights, so that it is customary to use a standard size mold and produce ingots of varying weights as desired, by pouring them short, that is, not filling them. This is not possible with the ordinary t pe of sink head, which is set at an invaria 1e po.- sition on the top of the ingot mold.

After the mold and sink head are prepared and the opening 16 between the metal sink head casing and the ingot mold have been. luted with clay or other refractory material, the steel is teemed into the mold and sink head until they are filled. The ingot is then allowed to rest as in the ordinary practice for such period of time as is required for the exterior metal to freeze, and then the iron casing 4 of the sink head is stripped from the lining or jacket and the ingot is then removed from the ingot mold and charged into the soaking pit with the non-conducting jacket thereon as illustrated in Fig. 2, the usual way.

The non-conducting lining and the iron casing of the sink head are held together by wooden soft metal or other fragile pegs 12 which fit into holes or sockets 9 in the iron casing; or other temporary means which are destroyed by the heat of the molten metal may be used to temporarily secure the iron casing and lining together, so that the iron casing is easily released after the steel is poured and the casing is lifted off by apparatus engaging with the lugs 8 leaving the non-conducting lining adhering to the ingot top. This continues to conserve the heat in the top of the ingot, holding the steel molten at that point to feed the shrinka e until the body of the ingot is solid. It won (1 be impracticable to charge the entire sink head; namely, metal casing and non-conducting lining into the heating furnace, and if the non-conducting lining is removed with the iron casing, the conservation of the heat in the top of the ingot would be prevented, and the object of the sink head would fail.

In order to assure the adhering of the mold top to the ingot, indentations 11 which may either be in the shape of individual pockets or circumferential grooves or otherwise, are formed in the lining 10 with the idea of allowing the molten metal to flow therein and form a secure bond with the lining. 13 represents a layer of smooth and refractory material, such as graphite, soapstone, talc or it may be composed of asbestos paper, or asbestos board, either with or without a coating of graphite or similar material to insure the strippin of the casing from the lining. The shri age cavity shown in the sink head portion 14 of the ingot is indicated as 15.

The ingot, with the non-conducting jacket 10 on the upper sink head portion 14, as

illustrated in Fig. 2, is charged into a vertical soaking pit furnace as soon as it can be handled an made ready, the outer portion of the ingot bein solid but red hot and the inner portion 0 the ingot and sink head molten. While in the furnace the heat of the ingot is equalized; the sink head feeds the shrinkage in the interior of the ingot and the entire in ot becomes of substantially equal red or ye ow heat and in condition for rolli forging or otherwise working. After the mgot 1s withdrawn from the furnace the non-conducting 'acket 10 is removed from the sink hea preparatory to working the ingot.

Although I have shown and described my improvements in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to the exact and specific details shown and described, but may use such, substitutions, modifications or equivalents thereof, as are embraced within the scope of my invention, or as pointed'out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The process of producing ingots which consists o pouring molten metal into a metal mold provided with a non-conducting top, then, while the interior of the metal is molten, heating the whole ingot with the non-conducting top thereon.

2. The process of producing ingots which consists in pouring molten metal into a metal mold provided with a non-conducting top, then removing the'metal mold leaving the non-conductin top on the upper portion of the ingot, and then heatin the same whereby the temperature throug out the ingot is equalized and the shrinkage fed from the molten metal within the to 3. The process of making ingots which consists in pouring molten metal into a metallic mold with a refractory non-conducting top contained Within a metallic casin removing the metal mold and the casing, then putting the ingot with the non-conducting top thereon into a heatin furnace,

then equalizing the temperature 0 the ingot while the molten metal in the top feeds the shrinkage thereof. t

4. The process of producing steel ingots which consists in introducing molten metal into a metallic mold having a non-conducting top removably held in a casing, then re' moving the casing and the mold leaving the non-conducting portion of the ingot, then charging the ingot with the non-conducting portion of the mold top thereon into a heat- 1ng furnace, thereby equalizing the temperature of the ingot while feeding the shrinkage from the molten metal in the top, and then withdrawing and working the ingot as desired.

5. The process of producing steel ingots which consists in introducing molten metal into a metal ingot mold provided with a nonconducting top temporarily secured within a casing, adj ustably fitted in the top at desired elevation within the ingot mold to predetermine the length of the cast ingot, then removing the casing from the top and the mold from the ingot leaving the non-conducting top on the ingot, then charging the ingot with the said non-conducting top thereon into a heating furnace and then heating the whole, whereby the molten metal I in the top feeds the shrinka e and the temperature is equalized throug out.

In testimon whereof I hereto aflix my signature in t e resence of two witnesses.

E WARD F. KENNEY. Witnesses:

HENRY S. SHARP, ELMER SEAVEY.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No; 1,137,1-H, granted April 27, 1915,

upon the application of Edward F. Kenney, of Westmont Borough, Pennsylvania,

for an improvement in Steel Manufacture, an eri'orappears in the printed SPCUlilcation requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 40, for the word of read on;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 11th day of May, A. D., 1915.

Acting Lbmmissiuucr 0] Patents. 

